The Rapoo V7 - Fully programmable mechanical under $40

[woody]

1) Managed to open it - no marks of manufacturer.Controller is not a chip, but rather a blop of goop.

Nice. They got creative in shaving the price by buying local mass-produced MCU dies. IC packaging is really not cheap.

At this price it seems like a tempting entry level microswitch keyboard for Asians that want to hop on the "mechanical" train. The switch spec of 50M actuations is the typical Chinese copycat bullshit.

[Konrad]

I suspect part of the reason the black box blob can slash manufacturing costs in this application is that it probably hides a low-quality low-reliability low-performance low-density low-cost EEPROM paired with the wimpiest MCU which can reasonably meet minimal keyboard specifications. Although google translate mangled that Chinese site quite badly, I still got the distinct impression that this is in reality a very cheap and ultimately disposable product, my enthusiasm about purchasing one has been considerably dampened by the growing number of user complaints.

Controllers covered in goop are not especially amenable to hacking - I'm convinced that cleaning it off will reveal a part which is disappointly cheap and possibly entirely unmarked or undocumented. I clean off enough potted parts at work when critical components cannot be readily replaced, sometimes it just wastes a lot of time and makes a big mess, it can be faster to just reconstruct a simple circuit like this from scratch with decent parts. An advantage of the blob is that as often as not they don't bother codelocking the firmware, a disadvantage is that removal is sometimes overly destructive.

Have you done any NKRO tests? Is this thing basically just another piece of 2KRO USB junk with horribly low polling?

[mintberryminuscrunch]

Read the review. 3kro

Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk

[sixty]

I think it could also be considered 2 key-rollover if you are mean. The matrix is very similar to the Blackwidow it seems. Most combinations are fine, some few block out.

Seems there also might be multiple revisions of the board already. Screenshots on the kbdtalking forum suggest that one guy has 6 key rollover on his. I definitely don't.

[RiGS]

Do you like the feel of the switch over the vintage cherry blacks?
Do you think a mass order on those 50g springs would be possible?

[mintberryminuscrunch]

50g and clears might be interesting

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[ripster]

50g has not been verified by coinage that must not be mentioned.

[sixty]

Do you like the feel of the switch over the vintage cherry blacks?
Do you think a mass order on those 50g springs would be possible?

Nope. Vintage blacks take the crown still. I do prefer these over the official reds though!

Also about the fall test to break the stem... I got two of these boards and one of them fell from the table by accident. I figured I would throw it down a few more times to see if anything happens. Eventually the F12 key flew off and the stem broke. I think it took 4 or 5 tries.

[itlnstln]

F12? No big loss as long as the rest of the 'board still works.

[ripster]

Have you guys ever seen a Cherry MX break?

[itlnstln]

Nope. I've seen cherries break, but not MXs.

[sixty]

I've gone through hundreds of G80s and I have never seen a broken stem. I have seen it happen very often with G81s (MY) but not MX switches.

Even the G80-3000 that fell from 4 meter or something drop did not have any broken stems, though the double shot keycaps splintered.

[itlnstln]

Ripster should send some Cherry switches/'boards through a torture test like the Boscom.

[The Solutor]

Have you guys ever seen a Cherry MX break?

Never seen

[CeeSA]

@ sixty / could you please say something to the programming?

are they differnt layers to programm?
Could you programm a FN or Layer key?

For me the programming makes only sense if you could programm a 2nd layer.

[sixty]

@ sixty / could you please say something to the programming?

are they differnt layers to programm?
Could you programm a FN or Layer key?

For me the programming makes only sense if you could programm a 2nd layer.

Sorry, didnt see. Its a layer for the macros and a layer for the normal layout by default and it looks there is no way to change that. So the board is always 2 layers.

If you don't have the macro key enabled (the one next to the windows-lock key) the keyboard will use the default layout. If you enable the macro key, it will use whatever you programmed in on the second layer. So in theory, it has 2 layers and they are switchable. But there is no way to declare a FN key to access the 2nd layer separately.

[ripster]

Ripster should send some Cherry switches/'boards through a torture test like the Boscom.

Nah, just curious is all.

[webwit]

I'm just gonna put this in here.

yellowcherry.jpg (245.51 KiB) Viewed 7484 times

[Minskleip]

Looks like sorbet :slurp:

[webwit]

Those KBC trolls and their hoaxes!

110908093556e4ae9b1d437d05.jpg (156.65 KiB) Viewed 7482 times

[webwit]

Source:
http://bbs.kbc-china.com/thread-6552-1-1.html

In case your Chinese is kinda rusty:
http://www.otd.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_tabl ... r_id=84144

[Luhmaniac]

Reminds me of this:



But also that:
Die gelbe Gefahr

[ripster]

Well - it LOOKS like a 50g spring!

Too bad the photographer blew out the highlights in the yellow stem - I was trying to see if the molding marks matched. Probably some disgruntled manager stole the molds from Cherry Corp and went across the street with them under his coat.

[sordna]

I run my monitor a little dark, and can see all 3 mold marks on the yellow stem. Seems identical!

[sordna]

Not sure what these cherry yellows are about, but the Rapoo yellow switch is different:



Source with more pics:
Cherry vs Rapoo thread

[ripster]

Don't Germans have lawyers for this sort of thing?

[mintberryminuscrunch]

...edited out dumb remark...

[Wibox]

Cherry yellows are inbetween blacks and reds. Not sure what the Rapoo yellows are all about though.

[Minskleip]

How's your custom springs coming along sixty? Rapoo spring MO?

[Zoxc]

This keyboard has a model with pad printed keys apparently. (I just bought one)